Emergency Maintenance

Tenants on Austin Hawk Managed Service

What to do in the case of an Emergency and in order of priority:-

At any time: If you smell gas or are worried about gas safety, you should call the National Gas Emergency Service Freephone number on 0800 111 999 at any time day or night.During office hours (Mon – Fri: 8.30am – 5.30pm): Contact your property manager.

Follow the emergency arrangements made by your landlord. For example, if your Landlord has provided 24/7 insured maintenance/emergency cover (for example British Gas or other insured product), then please contact the relevant service as per the details supplied.

If no emergency arrangements are in place or they do not cover your particular emergency, please call Austin Hawk’s Emergency Helpline on 01264 350 508 & (option 0)Please note: This emergency service is free at the time of the request. However, if the emergency is due to any act of negligence or responsibility of the tenant then you will be liable to reimburse the cost of the call out and any works carried out.

For the avoidance of doubt, you should only refer to the Yellow Pages or anything similar as a matter of last resort.

General cold weather advice
Please be aware that during periods of cold weather, the following precautions should be put into action if the above property is likely to be left vacant for any period of time.

Pipes
Freezing temperatures can cause devastation to properties if pipes freeze and burst. Please be reminded to leave the heating on low, even if the property is unoccupied to look to prevent this from happening.

Water Systems
If it’s likely that your property will be empty for a significant period of time, turning off the water is not always sufficient as there is normally still a lot of water in the system which could cause damage. Please advise Austin Hawk if the property will be empty for any period longer than 14 days and check your insurance policy as Austin Hawk will also need to advise the Landlords of the situation so they can check their insurance policy as a plumber may be needed to drain down the system (water and central heating) to help eliminate this risk.

Insurance Obligations
Again, if a property is likely to be empty for a prolonged period, make sure that the Insurer’s obligations are not compromised and advise Austin Hawk s as “Empty Property Visits” may be required on a regular basis to provide independent photographic proof that the property has been monitored.
Some or all of the actions below may be required:-

Water to be turned off at the internal stopcock (in an attempt to prevent any further problems in case of an emergency, please be aware of the location of your stopcock and check that it is in working order)

All taps should be opened up to drain down the main water storage tank, this will not affect the central heating

Set the heating to a constant low (150C) 24-hour setting & open loft hatch 3-4 inches to allow heat into the loft space

For full protection the property should be drained down completely, we can arrange this on your behalf (please call the office for further details)

We recommend that you advise your insurers that the property will be vacant and check their terms and conditions. Romans cannot accept any responsibility or liability should any problems arise from frozen pipes or advice given.

Tenants on the Introductory Service and Rent Collection Service

What to do in the case of an Emergency:-
Please follow the advice your landlord has provided and in any doubt contact the Landlord directly.